Sports in Brief

By Kevin Barnum

Women’s Tennis

UC Irvine’s women’s tennis team gave Lafayette its first loss of the season on Saturday with a 5-1 win on the road.  The ‘Eaters improved to 5-4 and extended their winning streak to four, with three of those wins coming on their recent trip to Pennsylvania.

Sophomore Stephanie Nguyen gave UCI its first point by winning 6-1, 6-2 on court one. Junior Danielle Garrido’s injury on court two forced her to retire, but freshman Flora Amiri won the No. 4 match 6-2, 4-6, 10-1, for the ‘Eaters, and sophomore Arianna Tilbury had a strong 6-1, 6-0 win on court five.  On the remaining courts, sophomore Yulin Chen won 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 and sophomore Gillian Parker won 6-1, 6-4 to give the ‘Eaters their fifth and final point.

The women’s tennis team will look to continue their success when they begin conference play in their next match on Friday, March 2 at Long Beach State.

Men’s Tennis

The men’s tennis team fell to 1-4 on Saturday with a 6-1 loss at Utah.  It was the ‘Eaters’ second straight defeat after losing to USC a week before.

The ‘Eaters won their first doubles match as seniors Luca Marquard and Mason Hanson beat Utah’s Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim 6-3 on court one.  Utah went on to take the other two doubles matches, thereby winning the doubles point.

The Utes’ Randy Cory won his singles match 6-2, 6-2 on court four, propelling Utah to take five straight singles matches before the Eaters’ junior Sasha Krasnov won his match on the third court 6-3, 6-7, 10-3.  It was Krasnov’s first collegiate dual-match win for UCI.  

Men’s tennis continued its Utah road trip on Sunday with a match at Utah State.

Men’s Golf

UC Irvine’s men’s golf team finished in 14th place in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate at the Wailua Golf Course on Saturday.  Their finish came after three rounds of golf that started last Thursday with the ‘Eaters in 13 place.  In the second round they climbed up to a tie for 12 before their 298 in round three gave them a total of 878 and a 14 place finish.  They were only one stroke behind 13 place team New Mexico, and 53 strokes behind winners Texas A&M.

Senior David Kim overcame a tough first round by shooting 6-under in a second round that included his first hole-in-one in college play.  He would finish with a 216 (78-66-72), good enough to end the tournament in 26th place.

Senior Ryan O’Connor finished in 37th with a 218 (71-72-75), his best 54-hole score for the season.

Junior Ramiz Jamal was consistent with a 221 (74-73-74) while senior Jonathan Young shot a 229 (75-80-74).  Jefferson Kao made his first appearance of the season for UCI with a 231 (79-74-78).

The men’s golf team next plays at the Sacramento State Invitational on March 5 and 6.

Women’s Golf

UC Irvine’s women’s golf team finished in seventh place in The Gold Rush at El Dorado Golf Course last Monday and Tuesday.  Their strong first round score of 292 put them in second after one round before consecutive scores of 307 landed them in seventh.

Junior Janet Yeo had a top ten finish with her 223 (72-75-76).  Senior Kaley In tied for 30th by shooting 228 (75-74-79) while graduate student Avery French tied for 44 with her 230 (74-79-77).  Senior Breanne Jones’ 236 (71-82-83) and sophomore Sabrina Li’s 238 (84-79-75) rounded out the team, while individual competitors Camille Wagg and Jaqui Ngo scored 240 (79-81-80) and 242 (81-81-80), respectively.

The women’s golf team will play in the Rebel Beach at the Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas on February 26 and 27.